


We live, we die & death not ends it

by epic_cephalopod



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Afterlife, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Capable - Freeform, Cheedo the Fragile - Freeform, Emotional Fluff, F/M, Freya yes that Freya, Furiosa - Freeform, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nuxable - Freeform, The Dag - Freeform, The Splendid Angharad - Freeform, The Vuvulini, Toast the Knowing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 22:43:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5067418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epic_cephalopod/pseuds/epic_cephalopod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nux dies gloriously in battle, and wakes up in Valhalla...or does he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	We live, we die & death not ends it

"The movie will begin in 5 moments"  
The mindless Voice announced  
"All those unseated, will await The next show"  
We filed slowly, languidly into the hall. The auditorium was vast, & silent.  
As we seated & were darkened  
The Voice continued:  
"The program for this evening is not new. You have seen This entertainment thru & thru.  
You've seen your birth, your life & death; you might recall all of the rest  
\- (did you have a good world when you died?) - enough to base a movie on?"

Jim Morrison & The Doors - An American Prayer

* * *

_The plan was to jam the throttle on the rig and climb out before it blocked the path of those in pursuit. He promised Capable it would be easy, he would follow them. But suddenly Rictus was there and the engine was fuckin’_ GONE _and there was no other option, no other way to help the Sisters and block the pass. And suddenly Nux realized he didn’t_ WANT _to die anymore, didn’t want Valhalla, didn’t want to go out historic on the fury road. He’s spent so much time living to die, living a half life and hoping to at least die a chrome and shiny death, because Valhalla_ HAD _to be better than this fuckin’ world and dyin’ soft and there was nothing, nothing in his life but war and steel and the V8 until he met her. So soft shiny and strong. He looked at her sadly and she saw him, she always saw him, Nux, not the wild War Boy, and she knew too. This was his manifest destiny, to protect her and the Sisters so they could be free, so they could all be safe. Their eyes locked and the seconds passed like an eternity until he whispered “Witness me.” and cut the wheel. The War Rig starting to spin, his eyes stayed on hers until the very end. Whether he liked it or not, he was Awaited in Valhalla this day._

* * *

Nux knew nothing for a few moments, or maybe forever, before he realized he must be dead. The ever present weight on his throat was gone and he felt for Larry and Barry, but his neck was flat as it was when he was a pup. Valhalla was surprisingly quiet. He stared at his hands, no longer painted, and then touched his chest, pleased to feel the familiar scars of the V8 were still there, just as shine as always, and oddly comforting. He worked hard on that scar, and it would be right mediocre to be in Valhalla without it...if he even was in Valhalla. He sat up and looked around and saw an expanse of green on the ground, as far as the eye can see. ‘Grass’, he thought, remembering the wives talking of the Green Place, ‘this must be grass, and….flowers?’ He knew the words, but had never seen either. The air was sweet with fragrance, and buzzing with insects. He saw the tree-things in the distance, but nothing else recognizable.

 “Arise, warrior Nux, arise and be welcomed to my home.” a melodious voice sang, both inside and outside his head and it makes him feel warm and snug and terrified and aroused, all at the same time. A woman was walked towards him where he could have sworn no one was. She used an enormous spear as a walking stick, and wore a necklace and not much else. The necklace at her throat shone so brightly it nearly blinded him, it’s light encasing her within its glow. Her features wavered behind the light, seen but unknowable, so utterly chrome.

He scrambled to his feet, and saw that the woman was tall, taller even than Rictus, and so vast. She was the chromest woman he has ever seen - more so, he admitted to himself, than his shiny Capable. 

“Where...where am I? Who are you? How did you know my name!  If I am dead...is this Valhalla? Where are the cars and battles and my mates?” Death had taken him, but Nux was still Nux, enthusiastic and prone to babbling.

She smiled gently, “Ah, dear one, not Valhalla, though it is known to me. I am called by many names, but you may call me Freya - Lady of Sessrúmnir of the many seats. You are in the Field of the People. I know you, Nux, because you are one of my Chosen. You died gloriously in battle, and impressed me well”

Nux was quiet for a moment, before asking, “...so the Immortan was telling the truth, he’s a God? Valhalla is real, he is there?”

“NO.” Her necklaces flashed with anger, before she calmed. She laughed, and if it’s a little bitter, he couldn't hear it “He was only correct about Valhalla being real, but the one you call Immortan Joe has no sway there, and he is no God. I know not where he is, if in any of our realms.  The one who rules Valhalla is Odin, the Allfather. Valholl contains His own heroes, and those who He culls from the battlefield - after Me, of course. I get first pick of those slain, of up to half, though I take far fewer than the Allfather these days.”

None of this made sense to Nux, but if he was honest, not much other than cars and doing war ever did make sense to him. But he did understand one thing, “You...choose the dead? You chose me?”

She took his hand, “Come Nux - you are Awaited. I will explain while we walk.” She was silent at first, and Nux craned his neck every which way drinking in the lushness of this place. Cats, one of the few animals sometimes found within the Citadel, and the only ones not eaten due to their usefulness with vermin, followed close behind them.

“Of those that die in battle, they are shared between Odin and Myself. We fill Our halls with the best and brightest, and We each choose for our Own reasons. I have watched you ever since your heart became full of love. Capable; she unlocked love in your heart, and it was that love that aided your choices. You died in battle, but not for yourself, not for your own reward, but to save others. That is why I chose you and had one of My handmaidens bring you here.”

They stopped at a pond, and Nux realized he was crying. The Lady reached out, caught one tear, and flicked it into the water and an image began to appear. Red hair, goggles holding back the thick braids, and eyes crinkled at the corners in a smile. His heart burst - Capable! He reached out to touch her face, but the water rippled and her face disappeared.

 ****“I don’t understand any of this” he croaked, sounding like Larry and Barry were back. “I don’t…” he broke off, swallowed hard, stared at the water and wished he could see his Capable again.

“You will in time, it will all become clear. For now, you are Awaited.” she smiled at him. “This is where I leave you, beloved Nux. Now, before I go, let Me welcome you properly.” with that, she reached towards him and folded him in her embrace and Nux was within the necklace’s glow and everything was soft and warm and his head buzzed and cleared. She was strong, she had plucked him clear off the ground like he was a pup. There were soft bits everywhere and he wasn’t quite sure what to do or where to put his hands, but the softwarm overwhelmed the panic, and he relaxed into her, and her presence seemed to give him strength. Before she released him, Freya brought him further into her glow, and kissed him full on the mouth.

He stood there dazed, and he saw it looked like she was crying as well. She wiped away a single amber tear, and gently anointed his head with it. For the first time that he could remember, he no longer felt like rust, worthy only for the scrap heap, but like chrome - the way he felt when Capable looked at him. The lady smiled at him one last time before walking away into nothing and then she was gone. It looked to Nux as if more flowers had bloomed where she had stood.

 ****He turned back around, and there next to the pond was a long wooden house, with bright windows and white shining roof tiles, and the door was opening. A woman stepped out, long golden hair falling around her shoulders, face painted with blue streaks, but he saw the scars, so familiar even though he’d really only seen them once. He turned frantically, looking for a tree-thing or anywhere to hide from her, but before he could she was walking briskly toward him, shouting something over her shoulder he couldn't make out.

Nux was frozen on the spot - before he knew it, there was The Splendid Angharad throwing her arms around his neck. She was strangling him, he was sure. He lived, he died, he lived again, and she was strangling him. Could you die again in the afterlife? He wasn’t sure. Her body shook against him, and her hold loosened as he realized she was crying; he had yet to stop. Nux realized there was much less of her than he remembered; her belly was no longer swollen with sprog. Nux managed to untangle himself further, and fell to his knees, clutching her around the knees and sobbing out apologies, face buried in her belly.

Angharad shushed him, touched his face gently, “It’s ok Nux, it’s ok. My sprog is with Lady Hel now, being cared for. You helped deliver my sisters to safety. We saw it. Its all over now. Everything is ok. You're home.”

She tugged him back to his feet, and Nux scrubbed his face with the back of his hand.

 **"** You saw it? All of it? How?”

She nodded toward the pond, “We can see things, sometimes, from back home. Those close to our hearts. Glimpses, mostly. It does not serve us to dwell on the living, but it brings peace when peace is needed.” She brought his head down to hers, foreheads touching in a familiar greeting. “We saw the road war, your sacrifice. And the Vuvulini who met you told us everything. Yes,” she saw him looking around wildly for those warriors, so distrustful of men “even the Vuvulini were impressed with you. They’re here, of course. The Lady has a love for women who fight. And death brings some perspective...and peace. Come inside now, and we will tell you what we know.”

Nux looked toward the house, and saw others there; Valkyrie, and the Many Mothers who didn’t survive the battle, some who he never knew who had likely died before his time. Angharad took his hand, brought him to the feast inside.

 ****His deeds had gone a long way towards softening the hearts of the Many Mothers. They talked of great things, of Folkvangr and the Lady, and what some did there. It was a place of peace, no eternal battle but for those that chose to spar. Some were called to work for the Lady; Nux had a fresh bout of tears when he found that it was The Splendid Angharad herself who brought him to the Lady from the Fury Road. Time passed oddly there, sometimes minutes felt like days, and years like minutes. There was always a feast, the aqua cola was always available, and there was solitude or friends whenever one wanted.

Nux enjoyed his new found peace; the lack of war and driving surprisingly not missed. He peered into the pool occasionally, catching glimpses of the Sisters, and Furiosa, and sometimes even the one Furiosa called Fool, but mostly enjoyed lounging near so much fresh water. Angharad often joined him, usually in silence. She taught him to braid her hair, and he would, imagining fiery red curls under his fingers.

New folks arrived now and then, but none he knew, until one day he saw Valkyrie running toward the pond to greet Furiosa, and that was when Nux realized he’d not seen her in the pond for some time now. Furiosa was in the Greenest place, and reunited with her Many Mothers at last.

 ****She came to him, eventually, touching foreheads, and spoke to him; about the Citadel, how the sisters worked to improve it for many years. Of Capable, who never forgot him, and who took to raising the war pups to fine young men and telling stories of the past and future; Toast, who taught the Wretched and became their hero, The Dag, who filled the world with green again and whose daughters now helped lead, of Cheedo, no longer the Fragile, but the Brave, who became an Imperator and defended the lands. Decades had passed since he’d died, and the new world thrived.

Furiosa came first; but Cheedo came soon after; even in the new world, warriors risked dying young. Then The Dag, who was delighted to find such a world of green.  Then Toast, young again but covered with words like Miss Giddy - all awaited in the Green Place they so longed for, all carried there by their Splendid Sister. After Cheedo, Nux found he had a feel for when Angharad was leaving to carry the dead to Folkvangr. She could never say whom until they were home, but each time, he hoped. He never asked, never said a word, but waited.

 ****Finally, came the day he’d been waiting for in his bones - Splendid had gone. Nux was in the long house with the sisters, when Angharad came in the back and took a seat without a word.

 ****The Dag turned to him and tilted her head in that way that she had, “Nux...you should go to the pond...now.” She’d barely finished before he’d jumped from his seat, leaped over the table and ran, the other sisters laughing.

 ****He’d reached the pond, skidding to a stop and looking around wildly, until he saw the Lady’s blinding glow in the distance. He counted heartbeats, until the light faded slowly and he could start to make out bright curls through the fading glow, though to his eyes it was no less radiant than the shine of the Lady. He stood rooted to the spot unable to walk further himself, afraid his knees would give out, and when she saw him, she began to run.

She crashed into him, arms fast around his neck, knocking them both over and Nux was grateful to not have to worry about standing on his boneless legs. Capable was here. Her hands slid up the back of his skull, bringing their foreheads together. Neither spoke - what weight would words have now? They had made it to the Green Place - they had all made it to the Green Place, together.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic came about after I saw two troper’s theories on the WMG pages for Fury Road:  
> -Valhalla is real, and Nux made it there; followed by  
> -Valhalla is real but so is Folkvangr, and Nux wound up in chose Freya’s home because Capable would have liked it and is there now, along with Angharad (in fact, the troper suggested he would be there braiding her hair until the other ladies arrived.)
> 
> I am a Northern Tradition Pagan, and worship the Gods of the North, including Freya. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t realized that myself! Freya is a Goddess of many things - battle, witchcraft, fertility, and love. Of COURSE a man who sacrificed his own life for those he came to love would catch her attention. Not only that, but the lives he saved were the sort of women Freya would love as well. If I were a betting woman, I’d say Freya definitely has dibs on all the Wives, all of the Vuvalini and of course, Furiosa.
> 
> The Northern folks had two deities who had claim on those who died in battle: Odin, who’s hall is Valhalla (the hall of the slain), and Freya, who’s warrior hall is Sessrúmnir (The hall of many seats). In Valhalla, the chosen warriors fight all day, die on the field, and are resurrected to feast all night, preparing for Ragnarok. There is a goat who is milked for mead and a pig that provides eternal bacon (I mean, meat. But eternal bacon sounds better!). Not much is known of Sessrúmnir, but knowing Freya is also a fertility Goddess, I imagine it was green and peaceful. 
> 
> It is often forgotten that by the agreement between Odin and Freya SHE gets first pick of the warriors who die in battle who are otherwise unclaimed (for example, someone dedicated to Odin before they died in battle would likely go to Valhalla, and those dedicated to Freya would go to her.)
> 
> Many folks who worship Freya have shared UPG (Unverified Personal Gnosis - things we feel to be true about a deity that can’t otherwise be proven by our lore, such as Freya enjoying strawberries and chocolate, or which eye Odin is missing.) feel that Freya particularly likes to take the handsomest men on the battlefield, women who dress like men to go to battle, women warriors, and those warriors who are trans* or queer.)


End file.
